There are several very interesting programs airing in the next few days on NatGeo that focus on animals. Be sure to tune in!

My Child is a Monkey
Airing Friday, August 13 at 5pm ET/PT

They wear diapers and ride in strollers but, they’re not babies — they are “monkids.” NGC goes inside the controversy of adopting monkeys as surrogate babies. Many question whether this is animal cruelty or even a danger to the owners. Others are fiercely devoted to these primates they see as part of the family. See just how far these wild monkeys have come from their treetop habitat as we explore this growing phenomenon.

Watch a video clip that outlines some of the issues that come with integrating a wild animal into a human family.

And Man Created Dog
Airing Friday, August 13 at 9pm ET/PT

If humans were as varied as dogs we would range in height up to 22 feet tall and in weight more than 1,000 pounds. In the ultimate canine ancestral story, NGC traces the genetic journey from wolf to dog, taking viewers back 100,000 years to meet the “mother of all dogs.” It’s no accident that dogs evolved this way, as humans have been selectively breeding them for around 14,000 years to serve our needs as laborer, companion, hunter, herder and warrior, as well as to suit our aesthetic fancy.

In this video clip, we meet an incredible therapy dog named Tuesday who helps an Iraq veteran to overcome his debilitating PTSD.

Wild Nights: New Orleans
Airing Monday, August 9, 2010, at 9pm ET/PT

We journey to the “Big Easy,” famous for streets packed with party fanatics, but they aren’t alone. Mireya’s on a treasure hunt to find as much wildlife as possible and even hopes to confirm a rumor about an unexpected urban invader—a feral hog. We’ll follow as she searches through parks, swamps and city streets to find New Orleans’s wildest animals—including large invasive rodents called nutria that have been devouring the New Orleans ecosystem. She goes on a late-night escapade with a city-hired hog-hunting squad to catch hogs in a central New Orleans park, and eats bayou food including frogs and bugs … local style!

Watch this clip of Mireya tracking down the elusive New Orleans urban hog in a residential neighborhood.

This is a neat video of an ant drinking from a drop of water.

The Denver Zoo announced that their four new Amur tiger cubs have a clean bill of health. Born May 31st, the quadruplet cubs were the first of this endangered species to be born at the zoo since 2003.

Amur tigers (or Siberian tigers) are the largest cats in the world. They reside in a small region in the southeast region Russia and are also located in small numbers in China and North Korea. There are only around 400 Amur tigers left in the wild, and they are considered endangered by IUCN’s Red List. One cause of their dwindling population is loss of habitat due to deforestation. In addition, Amur tigers are poached, or illegally hunted, for their fur and for body parts that are used for traditional medicines.

Learn more about the new tiger cubs at the Denver Zoo website.

Learn more about Amur tigers by reading Animal Fact Guide’s article: Siberian Tiger.

Enzi, a week-old Grevy’s zebra, made his first appearance at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago yesterday.

Below is a video of the lanky colt frolicking around with his mother Adia.

Grevy’s zebras are the largest type of zebra. In the wild, they inhabit Somalia and Kenya.

For more info, see:
SunTimes.com
Lincoln Park Zoo website

Kwibi is a ten year old lowland gorilla who has spent the last five years of his life living in the forests of Gabon. The first five years of his life he spent being raised by Damian Aspinall at a wild animal park in England. In this incredible video we join Damian as he searches for his old friend.

Space Farms Zoo and Museum in Sussex, New Jersey is the home of the newest member of a rare species of lion. The cub, Siren, was born 10 weeks ago. He is the fifth generation of Atlas lion to live at the zoo.

Atlas lions, known for the black manes on the males, are extinct in the wild. There are fewer than 100 in zoos worldwide.

To read more about Siren visit NJ.com.

Visit the Space Farms Zoo.

We recently featured Alby the skateboarding owl in one of our posts. Since then a video of Albi showing off his skills has come to our attention. We’d like to share it with you.

Enjoy!

Crittercam inventor Greg Marshall speaks about his invention at the Garde Arts Center in New London, CT.

Greg Marshall, the inventor of Crittercam (a compact camera/data collecting device that attaches to animals), came to New London, CT on March 19th to speak about his invention and the insight it has provided into animal behavior.  Animal Fact Guide editors P.A. Smith and Abi Cushman, who reviewed the Crittercam exhibit at the Boston Museum of Science last summer, had the opportunity to attend this fascinating presentation.

In his talk, entitled “A Wild Point of View,” Marshall described how he first came up with the idea of Crittercam. On one expedition, he noticed a suckerfish attached to the dorsal fin of a shark.  He noted that the shark appeared to behave in a way unaffected by the suckerfish, and from there, he made the connection that it was  possible to attach a camera in an unobtrusive manner as well.

Throughout the presentation, Marshall stressed the importance that the Crittercam not impact the animal.  This was essential not only for the well-being and safety of the animal but also because they wanted to be sure to collect true data about how animals actually behave in the wild. If the animals acted differently in response to having the device attached to them, the data they collected would be compromised.

The Crittercam, which has become more and more streamlined and compact  as years pass, collects more than just video imagery.  The device collects a wealth of data such as temperature, light levels, pressure, and audio.  This supporting information allows scientists to more fully comprehend what they see in the video footage.

This unique view into animal behavior has led to many new discoveries.  For example, they learned about the feeding patterns of several marine animals.  In the instance of king penguins, they found that the penguins would dive deep and look up towards the ice to spot the fish silhouetted by the light shining through.  In this way, they acted in a similar way to a hawk circling above land and swooping in to catch their prey, but in reverse.  In the instance of humpback whales, they discovered that the whales would dive deep, drive fish towards the surface,  blow bubbles around the school forming a “net” to herd them, and then use their fins to scare the fish into their open mouths.

Marshall delivered an excellent presentation, providing interesting and sometimes humorous anecdotes about his experiences in the field. If you have the opportunity to hear him speak in your area, we recommend you attend.

You can also view the Crittercam exhibition which is currently on display at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum in Chicago until April 11. From May 22 to January 5, 2011, you can see Crittercam at The Wildlife Experience in Parker, Colorado.

For more information, see National Geographic’s Crittercam website and National Geographic’s Crittercam event page.

Dokkoon, an Asian elephant residing at the Melbourne Zoo in Australia, gave birth on Saturday to female baby elephant. This marked the first time a female Asian elephant has been born in Australia. The baby pachyderm was also the first elephant born at the Melbourne Zoo.

Baby Elephants first steps from Zoos Victoria on Vimeo.

For more info, see:
Zoos Victoria
The Age

When a private zoo on a small island on Lake Skadar in Montenegro was flooded, Nikica, an 11-year old hippopotamus, seized the opportunity for freedom. As waters rose, she was able to bob to the top of her enclosure and escape.  Though currently being tracked by zoo officials, the two-tonne hippo could pose a threat to people. Villagers have been warned to keep a safe distance. “When I left my house to feed my cow, I saw a hippo standing in front of the stall,” said a farmer, Nikola Radovic. “I thought I was losing my mind.”

Watch the video footage of Nikica here below.

For more info about the hippo escape, see The Times Online. For more stories of animal escapes, see our 2009 wrap-up of Great Animal Escapes.

To learn more about hippos, see Animal Fact Guide’s article: Hippopotamus.